Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

It seems like a nice cool weather crop but way too many choices. Are the hybrids that much better or can I save some seed to regrow from an heirloom. I want to add it to stir fry and maybe in salads. What else do you do with it? Regular cabbage takes way too much room and too long.

I've grown them a few times, they grow quickly and you have to pick them while they are still young.

I honestly didn't know there were many other varieties other than bok choy and pak choy. I've regrown them from seed saved from a regular packed of seeds bought at a hardware store.

With cooking, there aren't that many options. They can't be overcooked, otherwise they are horrible.

I've made a soup from them (leftovers at work), but it's a bit bland. Usually just a bit of butter/herbs, and pan fry them or steam them until they are just cooked. Throwing them in a stir-fry works well too.

On a semi unrelated note, I buy in bok choy as a vegie at work. And the bunches come together in rubber bands. I've been keeping them all year:

Cool band of rubber brother. They don't sell these type of seeds in my parts. I was overwhelmed by the different types. Then I think...this is a plant grown for centuries in Asian culture....can't be that hard. Like cabbage...it's bland but carries the crunch and flavor from it's neighbors in a stir fry.

Have grown pak choy very easily from commercial seed (packet), and bok choy (harder to get).

I am looking at Kai-Lan (Gai Lan) which is a bit more of a broccoli once my last pak choy has harvested.
(google kai lan chinese broccoli).

Kai-Lan is often served as a stand alone or mixed vegetable dish - with a bit of soy - at many Chinese restaurants.
It has advantage that like bok-choy/pak-choy it is smaller than the European equivalents.

You might find it a bit more versatile - can still be used in stir fry or used alone as a vegetable side.

these guys cover USA (both based in California and quite a range) - pity we cannot buy for ship to Aust ;-(

http://www.evergreenseeds.com/index.html
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_chine ... oli_1.html

eg. look at very bottom of this page for a heap of leafy green+ Asian options...

http://www.evergreenseeds.com/chinkalgail.html

For Kai Lan:

typical simple dish.. http://steamykitchen.com/82-chinese-bro ... ecipe.html
with links to Bok Choy recipe at bottom.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/17170/c ... ster+sauce

etc etc

also Choy Sum may be a good option.

is basically like pak choy but tends to grow with smaller leaves and less spread out than pak chy, so can get more in.

For Australian AP'ers - Yates and Johnsons World Kitchen carry these as seeds.
(and both can be found around Perth for WA'ers with seed import restriction issues)

saw this old post, thought I would say a couple of things about pak and bok choy........
love em love em love em......pick em young, best stir fry ingredient known to man......
only one problem
DAMN APHIDS LOVE EM AS MUCH AS ME.....
greenhouses are great until pests get in and their predators can't ...

I grew them a few times without any problems whatsoever, no Aphids yet I had Aphids in one of the other GB's.

I'll plant another batch in the next week or so, easy and fast growing plant.

Mine baby pak choy got huge. It sucked all the nutes and smothered out my lettuce and spinach. The michihili was right on it's tail racing for light. I made 5 quarts of kimchi and replanted some lettuce. I need some micro choy. I might try the choy sum next year or this fall.



I've been aphid free this year and just started getting some nats.

How did you stay aphid free? Down here even Ryan Chatterson uses them as aphid bait, to save his other crops.

It's in a GH that's 10 ft off the ground. I usually get aphids when I bring tomato suckers from the dirt garden to root in the AP or if I buy plants that have them. Everything was started from seed and not store bought veggies this year. Ant season is just kicking off so I keep DE sprinkles around the base and terro traps. I'm sure I will get an outbreak soon. The choy was planted and harvested before they got going. The last couple years I only had aphids on the tomato's. They never bothered any other plants. It probably depends on the species of aphids and what plants they like.